vail2004

1) Alpine Valley, WI 1991 (start of UYI tour) ... easy decision .. GnR at apex of its powers and my only show w Izzy

2) The Apollo Theater, NYC 2017 (seeing original lineup in such intimate venue was unreal...tough decision here)

3) Indianapolis 1992 (w Metallica & Faith No More) ...long delays and long night but Axl brought such bent up intensity to his hometown.  gave an all time rant here too 

4) NYC Hammerstein Ballroom 2006 ... this is the only nuGnR show for me that legit rivaled the band at its peak in terms of energy, quality and hype

5) Madison Square Garden 2001 ... first "return of GnR" show...never thought I would see Axl live again

6) Las Vegas T Mobile 2017 (first reunion show for me)

7) Moda Center OR 2021

8) Seattle, WA 2023

9) Seattle, WA 2011

10) Madison Square Garden NYC 2007

Hammerstein 2nd night 2006 is my #2 favorite Post 2000 GnR show I have attended (1st was Apollo Theater 2017) ... the buzz in that venue was so electric.  Axl ripped up that place like a 24 yr old.  I was living in NYC at the time and regret just seeing one of those Hammerstein shows but they were really late starts.  Was such huge buzz in the city about the band around that time too.  He was in Page 6 like every other day  

Breakdown

Breakdown

Breakdown

& Breakdown

(Catcher in Rye at #5)

Alice Cooper

absolutely crushed this review. 

i agree with all 3 songs that are poor(er) quality: shotgun blues, back off bitch and get in the ring are among my least favorite of any in GnR catalog (cant even count my World as anything but lark...not a real song).  everything else is amazing and the consistency of the band at their peak was unmatched.  i just wish we got 3 albums of material!  Especially in hindsight .  

Also would add Breakdown is Axl at his lyrical best.  up there with Estranged in terms of best writing

2 hours ago, t-p-d-a said:

my Top 3 of Axl Show off his vocal skills
- Sailing 2006
- Knockin' On Heaven's Door second half Rock Am Ring 2006
- Nightrain Coachella 2016

Sailing in 2006 was next level good.  i am not a huge cover guy but what i wouldnt give for a studio version 

this is so typical of this forum and such a BS thread.  shorter setlist, less shows.  period.  he plays for 3 hrs and tours like mad. 

he is still a god of a live vocalist when he is on and better when he is off than people here comparing him to early 90s/2005/acdc etc want to admit

i was at the Indianapolis show.  Mike Patton from Faith No More landed next to me when he jumped in the crowd during the opening.  It was a loooong night ... two ~3 hr sets plus an opener and time in between.  At the end of the day Guns took it to an entirely different level than Metallica.  Stern was just stroking Lars w the "opener" stuff; at the time Guns were the unquestioned headliner. 

Axl always gave a little something extra when he came back to his home state.  He took verbal shots at the locals early (not having aspirations to do anything with their lives type of stuff) and then came back to a very positive note of hope later in the gig.  

I still rate the show I was that opened their Illusions tour at Alpine Valley as the best Guns show I have been to (3 in the early 90s and 6 after 2000)

On 3/18/2020 at 4:37 AM, rockphantom said:

 

While Axl's "mickey vocals" are in full force, at least the Harlem 2017 re-broadcast is of the rarely heard Caram Costanzo "remix", which aired a few times, several months after the original live performance.

 

 

 

 

 

I was at the show and was also at the hammerstein 2006 shows.  the apollo was an unreal experience and an unreal performance.  And I will say this: someone could listen to the recording and play the Axl "mickey" vocal game... but its bullsh*t.  he was a freakin giant that night.  plenty of rasp and full on top vocal performance.  its too easy to dissect live vocal recordings these days ...plenty - even the good ones - arent high quality.  if you were there, you know.

I have always loved the restraint of axl's vocals in this impromptu performance.  really shows his range as a singer.  almost blues style. 

also some are implying that Bruce seemed embarrassed after the song.  ridiculous.  bruce is a big Axl fan and always has been.  he cited the double Release of the Illusion records as inspiration for him to do the same expanded new material release.  he wasnt going to turn down a chance to sing w Axl and i guarantee he was shocked Axl was willing to do it.  to me these are two masters at work.  zero prep and still pretty f'ing great 

Malcolm Gladwell is beyond credible.  Has written the Tipping Point and a bunch of other think piece best sellers and does a lot around sports and pop culture with Bill Simmons and others.  Very smart guy and maybe highly out of character (or perception of his character) for Axl but also shows more nuance to him than many recognize.  And agreed it would have been around the Hammerstein shows when he was in Page 6 almost weekly

What I would have paid to see this.  Pretty cool story...at 1:32

1 hour ago, SWINGTRADER said:

 

Music is timeless. Axl is not. 

 

I think Axl should be more concerned about his voice. If he showed as much effort in improving it as he does talking about Trump he might sound better.

Axl looks small attacking Trump. He isn't even worthy of a response.

Axl fresh off a top grossing tour in music history is pretty damn relevant.  Nice to see him voicing his opinion and its received a ton of pick up.  

I cant imagine showing up at a Donald Trump rally in 2018.  beyond pathetic

1 hour ago, blackmore said:

Axl really has to retire. He's such an emberassement.

Richard - find a new band and have fun. And Slash, continue with Myles - way better singer and more exciting shows.

you are an embarrassment.  the guy is lights out 95% of the time and always grows into tours.  level of stupidity and repetitive trends in this forum (which I generally appreciate) still boggles the mind 

stage diving in the new release video was my favorite part.  better shots than the existing ISO video everyone has seen.  Axl was an animal in the early days.  wish we had more high quality video of those early years LA club gigs

This is terrific and a must-listen for any GNR fan.  You guys are getting great material.  There is no doubt in my mind a guy like Teddy is as straight and unbiased an insider account you will get...he has zero to lose or gain.  I loved the account of Axl during the Montreal riot (paints a different picture thats a lot more sympathetic)...

What a circus this guy lived.  

27 minutes ago, Derick said:

Looks like a falcon..And as @dgnrsaid they use this kind of birds in some airports. 

Its a peregrine falcon.  Likely taken in Dubai when they played there.  great pic

Axl is in full on primal, next-level force by the 4:30 mark through the end...and Mick is clearly competing with him at that point (as opposed to Tom Petty who just appreciated him on the Free Fallin duet), really the ultimate compliment.  When people ask me why I believe Axl was/is the best frontman rock has known, this is the clip I show.

8 minutes ago, TheHelgo said:

Pink joining is pretty cool imo!!

indeed.  the seed was likely sown when they both joined Billy Joel on stage for one of his shows earlier this year.  She was posting on social media how amazing it was to meet Axl

Axl in a landslide if the competition is "best frontman" -- Axl's on stage charisma and stage presence is in a league of his own.  Just watch him compete w Mick during Salt of the Earth.  He goes toe to toe w an all time great and outperforms him.

But... for pure vocalist Freddie was unique.  But axl isnt that far off there either

1 hour ago, mrw80 said:

Anybody know what celebrities were in attendance?  I was there in the lower mezzanine. Didn't see any near me, but I also wasn't really looking. 

Noah Syndergaard and girlfriend, Drea de Matteo, McEnroe, Jimmy Iovine (I believe) were the ones near me (in addition to sofia V and that Joe dude who were mentioned).  didnt see Patrick WIlson or Tony Hawk but sure they were there

Also Axl was pretty focused on that Sasha girl and her friends in the box to the upper left as you look at stage

Just now, BangoSkank said:

I was two rows in front of you and couldn't agree more. When you're sitting back and listening at home (and on the computer setlist watching) there is nothing to do but analyze and breakdown. At the show, that all goes out the window (and it should). 

As an aside: Did McEnroe leave part of the way through?

yes - he left about 4 songs prior to the encore.  had an early appointment fri apparently.  nice guy and very into it.  

was an interesting mix of folks there huh?  def some real hard core fans but more celebs than I realized.  I am 90% sure jimmy iovine was right there in our vicinity as well

to me the #1 takeaway of watching Axl in that kind of crazy intimate environment was the extreme amount he pours into a performance.  doing what he does to that degree for 3+ hrs at 55 is just absurd